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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has shared his thoughts on Mohamed Salah signing a new contract with the Reds. He shared his delight at the news and talked about how wages would have been the main factor holding up negotiations till now.
According to Sky Sports, the Egyptian will earn £350,000 a week as per his new contract, which expires in 2025. His previous contract was set to expire in 2023.
Speaking about the winger's wages, Carragher claimed the departures of Sadio Mane and Divock Origi would have alowed the Merseysiders to offer Salah higher wages.
The former Reds defender said on Sky Sports:
"I think the fact that Origi has moved on and Mane has moved on and Liverpool have brought in maybe one attacking player who is on similar sorts of wages [in Darwin Nunez]. I think the fact that two have gone and one has come in means that they could maybe get closer to the numbers Salah wanted."
He added:
"I think everyone is just delighted Salah has signed and fingers crossed he produces over the next three years what he has produced over the last five years and I am sure that he can."
Carragher then talked about how the Egyptian winger is one of the best players in the world and perhaps deserved better wages. He said:
"Maybe money [was the main factor in negotiations]. There is nothing wrong with that. Salah has been as good as anybody in the Premier League or anyone in European football, certainly in his position, and he'll feel he deserves to be paid as well as those. And we know the types of numbers other players get at other clubs."
Carragher talked about how the club's owner FSG's wage model so far has been good for them. However, he believes that it can be broken at times for special players such as Salah. He said:
"Liverpool have never really gone to that level in terms of numbers, certainly under FSG - and I think that a lot of Liverpool fans respect that model because it has brought a lot of success to the club so they almost accept how they go about things not just with player contracts but also with signing players."
He added:
"I don't think there would have been much criticism if Salah had left. But I think now and again when you have someone as special as Salah the rule that you have to have in place you have to certainly bend them, maybe not necessarily break them but you have to maybe go closer to a position that maybe you don't want to."
Salah is now the highest paid Liverpool player of all time.
Mohamed Salah's Liverpool career so far
The Egyptian has been a force to be reckoned with since joining the Reds from Roma for up to £43 million in 2017. He set the record for the most goals scored in a 38-game Premier League season in his debut season itself, scoring 32 goals.
Salah has helped Liverpool win the Premier League and the Champions League, among other trophies, during his tenure at the club.
He has registered a staggering 156 goals and 58 assists in 254 matches for the Reds in all competitions. He has also won three Premier League Golden Boots and one playmaker of the season award in the process.
